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About Me

Life is an adventure to be lived, not read about! I am an addicted arctophile (lover of bears!), quilter, stitcher & craft designer. I have been married to my best friend Scott (AKA My Beloved Geek Boy!) for 24 years ... & still like him! We live in our 'Dream House' on an acre in a semi-rural area that provides inspiration for my craft pattern designing; with an ever-growing population of bears, cloth dolls, quilts & stitchery projects. Grab a cuppa, get comfy & enjoy your visit! :0)

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SSCS 2015

OPAM 2016

OPAM 2015

OPAM 2014

Stitch-A-Long Challenge

Lynette Anderson's Noah's Ark BOM

OPAM 09

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Friday, 2 January 2009

New Year's Action, Excitement & A Challenge!

EDIT: The One Project A Month Challenge (OPAM) CLOSED on January 31!! The number of participants just got too big to keep it open! If you've missed out SORRY! - but why not play along at home and tackle your WISP pile, taking inspiration from the blogs in the partisipants' list in the sidebar. Happy Stitching and Bear Hugs! KRIS

Well, here we are in 2009 - barely! And already there's action and excitement here at Tag Along Teddies!! And YOU are invited to join in the fun! Interested? Read on!!

It all started innocently enough (as these things often do!!) with May Britt and I commenting to each other that we want to finish some of our WISP's (Works In Slow Progress - that sounds so much softer than UFO's, doesn't it? Tee! Hee! Hee!). We decided to have a little challenge between May Britt, her friend Hanne and I to finish at least one project each month. And then ... we thought ... why not invite others to join us? So the result is that May Britt and I are hosting the:

Now, some parts of this, May Britt and I are still sorting and finalising, but here are the basic guidelines for our challenge.

1. Participants will try (we know life interferes sometimes!) to complete at least ONE craft project by the end of each month. This can be something you've had partly done for a while (a WISP!), a pattern you bought ages ago that you finally get around to making, or a completely new project - it's entirely up to you.

Hmmm ... that's actually the main guideline!!! This is meant to be a VERY low pressure, fun, encouraging challenge. The journey of crafting should be as enjoyable and important as the destination of having a finished project! We're hoping that the challenge will just give us all a little motivation, or as May Britt said, a kick in the BUTT! Tee! Hee! Hee!

But wait ... there's more!! If you'd like to join our little challenge, all you have to do is email me at: kris@tagalongteddies.com or May Britt at abyquilt@hotmail.com and let us know so we can add you to our list. Then, pop our little badge (kindly designed by my beloved Geek Boy!) onto your sidebar with a link back to either this blog, or May Britt's blog where we've posted the guidelines for the challenge. Then, each time you finish a project (big or small, all types of craft, it doesn't matter!) post a photo of your completed project on your blog and email either me or May Britt so we can update our list. If you don't have a blog - DON'T WORRY! You can still join in the fun - just email a photo to me or May Britt and we'll pop them on our blogs and add it to our list.

If you DO have a blog, you might like to pop a list of your completed projects for each month on your sidebar - to help May Britt and I keep track, but also so you can see just how much progress you've made throughout the year. Won't it be nice to look back in December (EEK! But it's only January 2!! Tee! Hee! Hee!) and be reminded of your achievements?

Now ... to give us all a little bit of incentive, May Britt and I are also going to hold a prize draw on the last day of each month. Everyone who has registered a completed project with us for THAT MONTH will go into the draw - if you've completed more than one project, you get an entry for EACH finish, so have more chances of winning some yummy gifties!! May Britt and I will take it in turn to do the draw and provide the little prize (I'm up first for January!), so there'll be plenty of surprises and variety to keep us all motivated. Then, on Christmas Eve, we'll have a super-size prize draw where ALL of the entries will go back into the draw for a special prize drawing - but details of this will be worked out closer to the time. After all, it's January and December is a loooooong way off - right?! Tee! Hee! Hee!

There are also other bloggers out there who have decided to challenge themselves, including one at http://crazyforprimitivequiltsandgardens.blogspot.com/ so if you come across more in blogland, let us know so we can all visit and encourage each other - isn't it great to have such a HUGE cheer squad on our side!!

May Britt and I will both put a list of Challenge Participants on our sidebars, with links to people's blogs so we can all visit each other and admire finished projects - not to mention make new friends along the way! OH!! And very importantly ... you can join us at ANY TIME - there is no cut off or deadline, you just have more chances of winning some fun prizes the sooner you join us! May Britt's friend Hanne and our mutual blogging buddy Stina have already signed up, so why not join us for some stitching good fun!! :0)

WHEW!! I think that's it ... at least enough to get us all jump-started!! If you have any questions, just email me or May Britt and we'll try to give you an answer that makes sense! Tee! Hee! Hee! I am SOOOOOOOOO excited by this challenge and co-ordinating with May Britt! So excited, in fact, that I hardly slept last night cos I had so many thoughts and ideas running around in my head! Tee! Hee! Hee! Well, I think that's it from me for now. I'm off to pop the Challenge Badge etc on my sidebar and then lock myself in my sewing room to get going on my first finish for the year! Happy stitching - Bear Hugs!

45 comments:

I definitely want to join in. I have started a little list on my blog of some WISPs that have been hanging around for too long ( Butterfly Garden being the only expection). I'm hoping 2009 will be the year of many completed projects.

count me in but not sure how to do the badge thing on the side, have tried to do that sort of thing before but didnt work so i might need a geek of my own to help. thanks for this i really need the butt kick and linda has promised to hold my hand so i should be fine. %*_*% rosey

Oh my. This sounds like a GREAT challenge. I really, really want to join. I just hope I can keep it up. I have so many UFO's that I am anxious to finish. Count me in and lets hope it motivates me enough to empty my UFO tote. Does knitting count too?

Does it have to be a big project? And does it have to be a quilty project? For example, I crochet snuggles for animals in shelters, and sometimes it takes me a LONG time to finish just one - and they aren't even very big. Or crocheted squares - I'm guessing they wouldn't count as single projects...

Hi Kris - I'd be worried about your blog becoming conjested with posts re the challenge - can I suggest you check out the Black and White quilt challenge - it has a blog of it's own with the host doing the intitial co-ordination for a memeber then the member has access to make posts re their work - leaving you free to do your own thing (I've also posted something re this on May Britts blog)

I would like to join. However, I have been recently diagnosed with my 2nd recurrence of uterine cancer. I don't know what the plan is for the future. However, I want to think positive and that is why I want to join this challenge. I want to be around to complete a project each month.I put your link onto my blog which is, lqs-ohmy.blogspot.comCome check out my quasi-challenge:STOMP OUT CANCER BUGS!!!!CINDY

Hi Kris and May Britt,Both names are familiar to me - now I have visited your blogs and love the challenge idea you have come up with (great blogs, too!). I am motivated buy it all and would love to join in - let's hope life doesn't get in the way!Hugs - Lurline!

This is a wonderful idea, just what I need. I need to sort and tidy my sewing room, finishing all that I have started is a great way to go. Then I can sort what I have left and maybe find the floor and all surfaces again!!! Can hope!Please count me in. I do not have a blog yet but my teenage daughter is going to help with this (when she gets the time and isnt using the computer herself (!!!!!!!!!).Thankyou for the inspiration and the framework that I need. Now off to the sewing room.Zebedee.

Well I managed to start my blog on my own..yay...while the iron was heating up. Now off to iron some blocks and start putting them together. Will have this quilt finished by the end of the month.zebedee

Hi Kris! How great of you and May Britt to organize this. I would love to join in. I'll put the link to it on my blog this week! This is such a good way to get things done. I'm telling friends to join too, who have so many WISP's to finish. Good luck with all the organizing. Please let me know if I can give you any help at all.

I'm in, I'm in! Challenges and deadlines are always a good thing to motivate me! thanks for doing this. I'm traveling right now and won't be home until the 22nd, but I'll just kick it in high gear when I get home!

Hi, I have completed my first January project, I am so motivated by your challenge, I have put your challenge on my blog with at list etc but i am nbot sure where to send my photo?I am a bit new to blog!any help greatly appreciated, I am off to finish a crochet blanket now that I started middle of last year.....wish me luck!Alex x

Here it is Oct....forgot to post Sept project...but at least I finished one....onward and upward and hopefully will do better this month....it is a great reminder when I open my blog to get another WISP done...

Sounds you were well overwhelmed by last year's challenge/participants!! I didn't succeed with your challenge at all! Shame on me...

I got busy with my parent's 50th anniversary plans, was sick for 3 months, busy with life in general... and after a while I forgot I joined in on your challenge... Till just now when something on my blog reminded me!!! 8-(